


Some Things Are Meant To Be

by scifi



Series: phandom bingo [6]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Coworkers to lovers, Getting Together, Hooking up, Instant Infatuation, M/M, Office job AU, Regular Job AU, Strangers to Lovers, a soft fluffy ending, halloween party, well technically it's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 21:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16416692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifi/pseuds/scifi
Summary: dan thinks his work halloween party is the worst thing in the world until a co-worker he has never met before grabs his attention.





	Some Things Are Meant To Be

**Author's Note:**

> written for phandomficfests bingo! using the prompt regular job au!

There are people everywhere, crowding him, spilling out onto every inch of the club. Work events are bad enough as it is but throw Halloween into the mix? It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

If it wasn’t for the free drinks he doubts anyone would be here. Who would willingly socialise with people they already see too often? Forced to engage in small talk until they get too plastered to stay civil?

Small talk. The worst kind of interaction.

Now he’s questioning just why he’s here in the first place. These are people he forgets about as soon as 5pm rolls around each day. Interacting with them outside of work is the definition of torture in Dan’s mind.

Wait.  _ Free drinks. _ He’s here for the drinks.

Dan’s sitting on the bar, next to a few girls from his department. It is safe up here, he didn’t have to pretend to care about a stranger’s name or small talk about workplace gossip with someone he has only met once before. The girls weren’t paying attention to him, too caught up in finding Tinder hookups, but he didn’t mind. He’d rather just chill at the bar and drown himself in the strongest free alcohol available.

“Are cocktails on the tab?” He leans over the bar, picking up the attention of one of the bartenders.

She looks at him, eyes raking him up and down and Dan wonders if she thinks his getup is ridiculous. Fangs pressing into his bottom lip, fake blood smeared messily down his neck and a satin cape that screamed  _ Basic Bitch Vampire _ . He even dragged some eyeliner around his eyes, knowing it probably looks shit but he isn’t exactly out to impress anyone.

The bartender smirks and leans close to him, “Only for you, Mister Dracula.”

She winks and Dan fights to suppress a sigh. There’s always one.

“Espresso martini, please. Extra strong if you can.”

When she’s done with it, she slides it across the bar and he could swear she’s leaning forward on purpose, showing off her chest. He really hadn’t expected to be flirted with while dressed up as a knock-off Dracula but then again, the brevity of some people never cease to surprise him. 

He takes it, smiling awkwardly thanks to his fangs, and turns towards his Tinder obsessed coworkers. He wonders if they even notice he’s still with them or if he can make an escape out of this hellscape while he still can.

Unfortunately, the former is true.

“Dan! Who needs dating apps when you’re hot?” 

Melissa, the girl next to him nods towards the bartender and he feels his insides tighten. She’s in a fairy outfit with a bit too much glitter on her face but he has to hand it to her, she looks a whole lot cuter than his lame attempt at a vampire.

He sighs. She already knows why her comments ridiculous but the wine must’ve gone to her head.

“We’ve talked about this,” He says between sips of his drink. It’s strong. Very strong.

She tilts her head out of curiosity, eyes narrowing as if she’s trying to remember.

It must click because her face animates and laughter spills from her lips, “Oh. Oh! We’ve gotta get you on Grindr then! All of us deserve to get fucked tonight.”

“Fucking hell,” He groans. Melissa couldn’t have said it louder even if she tried.

He suddenly remembers why he hasn’t frequented bars in years, let alone with a bunch of people he kinda knows. It’s all about sex and getting drunk and making bad decisions you’ll regret in the morning. Those are all things he loves to do but just not with people he has to work with five days a week.

“I don’t need Grindr,” Dan says. “Or Tinder. I’m fine.”

“You seeing someone and you haven’t told me?”

“No. Just not looking right now.”

He’s right about that. About just not looking. He hadn’t even thought about dating for months and no amount of free alcohol and peer pressure would change his mind. Dating was tiresome anyways.

“Well, a handsome fella like you won’t have to look far,” She reaches out to pinch his cheek. “Good job. Good face. Probs a good dick too. You’re a man’s wet dream.”

“I actually hate you,” He groans. He doesn’t want to have this conversation with her. Melissa might be the closest thing to a friend he has in this godforsaken workplace but no amount of alcohol could prepare him for dick talk.

She giggles, “Well if you’re not going to suck some dick tonight I sure will.”

He sees this as a chance to escape. He doesn’t know where he’ll go, everywhere else in the club is packed to the brim with people he’d rather not interact with. But it’s either that or endure Melissa’s Tinder adventure.

He gets up off the bar stool, “Well, enjoy that.”

“You’re leaving?” She pouts. The expression weirdly endearing in her fairy costume.

“Just need some fresh air.”

“See you later?”

“Yeah. If not catch ya on Monday.”

With his martini in hand, he delves into the throng of people swaying on the dance floor to music that’s way too loud, all looking ridiculous in their costumes. 

Past all the people and up the stairs is a rooftop area. He makes eye contact with a few people on the way. He knows most of them but he’d rather go back to Melissa than deal with conversing with people he’s only nice to because he’s paid to know them. 

Upstairs, the night air hits him with a blast of cool freshness that was tainted with cigarette smoke. The latter seeped into his head, giving him a headache but it was a lot less crowded so he’d make do. 

Dan would be lying if he said it was quieter out here. The music may be muffled behind the door but the bass was insipid and London is loud at night with sirens and car horns and smokers. Smokers were so damn loud and sociable as if the only conversation volume they know is  _ shouting _ . He doesn’t want to join the raucous but he’d rather stay here than have to small talk with a guy on the stairs he barely knows.

He walks around the rooftop trying to find an empty seat and that feat seems to prove impossible. He hadn’t even realised just how many people worked at the firm until tonight. 

He’s about to give up until he sees a booth in the corner, hidden away near the emergency exit with only one person sitting in it. 

There’s something different about the man in the booth. He isn’t talking or sitting with a group of other drunks. Dan wonders if he’s waiting for some mates but the bloke’s just scrolling on his phone looking bored out of his mind. 

Except it isn’t his solitude and Dan’s desperation for a seat that intrigues him. Even from a distance, the dude looks proper fit and Dan knows he isn’t searching for anything right now but there’s something about him that’s different.

Sitting with a stranger is absolutely against everything Dan didn’t want to do tonight but maybe the espresso martini has started to cloud his mind because instead of turning back and heading down the stairs he walks over to him.

_ He’s not after a hookup.  _

He tells himself that as he approaches, thinking about his conversation with Melissa. He’s not after a hookup, especially not with a co-worker. He just can’t resist having someone pretty to look at if he has to endure this hell of a party. Anyways, the blokes probably as straight as straight can be. The pretty ones usually are.

“Mind if I sit?”

The bloke looks up from his phone, a slightly confused expression on his face as if he can’t believe anyone would even ask such a thing. 

“Uh sure,” He says with a hint of a northern accent.

Dan slides into the seat opposite the man who watches him intently. He’s dressed in nothing special, just a white shirt and a black leather jacket. A kinda piss poor costume if Dan’s being honest. Although, Dan’s not really paying attention to the outfit. He’s more focused on how the fairy lights on the rooftop show off his brilliant cheekbones. 

He’s pretty. Really pretty. Dan wonder’s why he hasn’t seen him before. Maybe he doesn’t even work at the firm and he’s just a plus one who got dropped.

“You’re Daniel, right? From HR?”

That question takes him by surprise because surely he’d remember a face like that from work. He knows he hates everyone but he surely would remember someone so pretty.

“Yeah. Call me Dan though. My full name only exists nine to five.”

The man locks his phone screen, shoving it into his pocket. There’s no way of escaping small talk now but he’s kinda okay with that and he doesn’t really know why this stranger is becoming his one exception. 

“I’m Phil from I.T,” he extends his hand across the table.

Dan takes it. “Phil? You sure we’re from the same company?”

“Probably don’t recognise me without glasses,” He smiles in a way that makes his whole face crinkle, showing two little fangs on his teeth too. 

Dan smiles because he doesn’t know what else to say but he makes a mental note to start paying attention to fit men in other departments from now on. 

He takes a sip of his drink, mind racing to find things to say because silence is the one thing he finds more awkward than small talk.

Phil doesn’t let the silence linger for long and he’s thankful, “You know, for a bunch of accountants, this party is pretty wild.”

Dan quirks a brow, “Then why you up here?”

“Could say the same to you.”

“I don’t like crowds.”

“I think I’ve found my soulmate,” Phil covers his mouth in horror the moment the words leave his mouth. “Wait! Sorry! I didn’t mean it like- I’m drunk.”

Dan feels something happen in his chest. As if a little spark had been ignited, “Believe in soulmates?”

Phil responds by taking a large gulp of his drink, “I think I need a few more drinks before I get deep with a stranger.”

“We’re not strangers. We’re coworkers,” He says playfully.

“You didn’t even know my name a minute ago.”

Dan smirks and leans forward, lowering his voice, “But seriously, do you?”

Phil mimics him, leaning in close, “Yeah.”

“How do you know? Like if you find one?”

Now that he’s up close he can make out the colour of Phil’s eyes, a pale blue with pupils blown wide in the low light. Pretty eyes for a pretty man.

Phil ponders the question for a bit, biting his lip as he does so his little fangs appear. Fuck he’s cute.

“Have to wait and see.”

That piques his interest, “Got anyone? Wife? Girlfriend?” Quieter, with hesitation he adds, “Boyfriend?”

Phil shakes his head, “If I did I wouldn’t be here. What about you?”

“Single life for me.”

“You’re kidding!”

The pure surprise in Phil’s voice hits him off guard, “Why’s that a surprise?”

Phil shrugs, “You’re far too fit to be single.”

The forwardness makes the spark inside Dan’s chest grow just a little bit. Maybe Phil might like looking at pretty boys just as much as Dan does.

But then Phil must realise that what he said is a bit too forward because he leans back, covering his head with his hands, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Dan feels disappointment hit him then. He shouldn’t have had his hopes up but a part of him couldn’t help it, “Oh.” 

Phil hums as if he’s questioning the reaction.

He drops his eyes to the dark liquor in his glass. So much for not looking for a hookup.

“I kinda hoped you do mean it like that.”

“Really?” Phil asks, his voice hushed, almost unintelligible in the noise of the rooftop. 

He feels his cheeks turn hot. It has been too long since he has been in a situation like this. He doesn’t even know what this situation is. He feels vulnerable but he doesn’t want to get up and leave this gorgeous man. Every atom within his body refuses to do such a thing. 

“What are you meant to be?” He changes the subject quickly. “Fonzie with fangs?”

A laugh erupts from Phil and it’s a sound so intoxicating that Dan wonders if he could get drunk from it. 

“I’m meant to be Angel from Buffy but it’s impossible to be as hot as him.”

Dan must be dreaming. He’s sure of it. There’s no way he lucked out enough to be in this situation. What Phil just said had to be intentional, dropping a hint that Dan was more than happy enough to pick up. 

“I don’t know about that. You’re kinda fit.”

“Kinda fit?”

“Super fit.”

Phil looks down at the table, an attempt to hide a grin. Dan likes that. He likes that he can flatter a gorgeous man. 

In the back of his head, there’s a little voice reminding him that he isn’t looking for a hookup. That he definitely doesn’t want to shag someone from the firm. He was only meant to come to this damn party for the alcohol but oh what a fool he had been. That little voice is annoying and he suppresses it with his drink. He can have some fun if Phil wants it because he’d be a fool walk away from someone with a face like  _ that _ .

“You sure you work at the firm? How have I not noticed you before,” Dan says. He’s still not sure how to backup flirting with even more flirting. 

Phil looks up, almost bashfully, and Dan feels his chest tighten.

“I hide in the basement fixing all the shit everyone breaks. I don’t exactly mingle.”

“I guess I just need to break my desktop on Monday so I can see you again.”

“I’d like that.” Phil smiles. “Well, not you breaking your desktop please don’t do that. But, seeing you again. I’d like that.”

There’s something different about Phil that Dan finds intoxicating. Talking to him doesn’t feel draining or takes effort. It’s easy and time becomes lost to him as one drink turns into another and then another. Hours could’ve past or maybe only minutes, he doesn’t really know anymore. Time is replaced with listening to Phil, laughing with Phil, and unashamedly flirting with Phil.

The world fades away while talking, the smokers and London traffic melt away leaving only Phil’s voice and his bloody gorgeous laugh that Dan can’t get enough of. At some point, Phil’s foot ends up hooked around his and Dan doesn’t pull away. He doesn’t want to pull away. He wants to do the exact opposite of pull away.

The little spark within his chest grows the longer they talk and it excites him. Phil’s the first person in a very long time, to capture his interest and he doesn’t want the night to end.

Dan’s pulled back into reality when he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out to see who the notification’s from.

_ Melissa: shagged tom the hot account manager _

He can’t help but smirk. Of course, she would pull a bloke who could easily be her dad.

_ didn’t know you were into daddys? _

“Who’s that?” Phil asks.

Dan puts his phone back into his pocket. Melissa could wait until another time.

“Melissa. She’s from HR too. Looks like she ended up finding her dick for the night.”

Phil grins and Dan can tell there is nothing innocent about it, “What about you?”

“Hmmm?”

“Found your dick for the night?”

“Maybe,” Dan winks and then instantly regrets it. Winking is absolutely cheesy. However the regret is quickly drowned out with the realisation of what Phil’s implying. “An A+ for subtly though.”

“Just call me Phil Subtle Lester,” He leans back in his seat, a smug grin. 

With a few drinks under his belt, he feels brave. Maybe it’s just liquid luck but in his alcohol tinted mind, there is no doubting Phil’s intentions. He’s just not so sure how to get from points A to B. Point A being this booth and point B being his apartment, with Phil hopefully naked beneath him.

Maybe another drink will help shake the remaining hesitation just enough that he could ask this gorgeous man if he wants to go home.

“Do you want another drink? It is a free bar.”

“Tempting but...” Phil trails off and he leans forward. Dan wonders if he’s going to whisper something but then he feels Phil’s hand slide onto his thigh, just above the knee. 

He definitely understands what that means.

Dan swallows. Suddenly his mouth has gone dry. This is really happening. His past self from a few hours ago would be shocked that he was actually going to hookup with a coworker – and not just any coworker – the fittest coworker he’s ever had the pleasure of meeting.

“Yeah,” He says once his mouth catches up with his mind.

Phil gets up out of the booth and for the first time that night Dan has the pleasure of seeing his slender body. He’s tall, around the same height as him, and his legs look insane in black skinny jeans. Dan could easily spend the rest of the night admiring the curve of his calves but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Matters such as exploring whatever has sparked to life between them.

Downstairs the club is still teeming with people but it’s less like a tin of sardines and more like a very drunk sea of fish. He hadn’t even bothered to look at the time before but judging by how messy everyone is getting, he’d say it’s pretty late. 

As he delves into the dancefloor, heading towards the entrance, Phil grabs onto his hand and it shoots a jolt of electricity up his arm. Phil’s hand feels good in his so he pulls Phil closer.

They’re swallowed up in the club, no one around them is sober enough to pay any attention, and as they make their way across the floor, Dan feels Phil’s other hand slide around his waist.

The little connection of physical contact excites Dan as Phil’s fingers drag across his waist leaving tingling electricity in his wake.

Even when they get out of the club, spilling onto the Shoreditch street, Phil doesn’t drop his hand. It’s a nice feeling. A feeling Dan hasn’t felt in a while, to be held by someone.

“I don’t live far from here,” He says, more of a question than a statement.

No amount of alcohol would give him the ability to ask  _ ‘Your place or mine?’ _ That feels sleazy and he doesn’t want sleazy. This beautiful man he only met tonight doesn’t deserve cheap and nasty.

“Central London you lucky bastard,” Phil replies. That’s not exactly the answer Dan was expecting to hear but it wasn’t a no.

He sticks an arm out to hail a taxi “You sure? Last chance to bail.”

“I’m certain.”

Dan grins. Proper grins in a way that must look stupid with his two little plastic fangs.

The taxi ride doesn’t take long to get to his apartment. Phil’s hand never leaves his thigh for the entire ride and with anyone else he’s ever shagged the night he met, an intimate touch like that would scare him but that wasn’t the case with Phil. This bloke was different and maybe that was the alcohol talking but as the night grows older he’s starting to think that maybe it’s something else. 

They climb up the stairs to his second-floor apartment. It’s nothing flash. The building is old and the floorboards are creaky and Phil giggles each time their footsteps cause the floor to whine.

He struggles to get the key into the door. He’d blame the lack of light but he knows it’s nerves. Opening the door meant leaping into the deep end with Phil. Are they going to talk first? Make a cup of tea? Or will Phil drop to his knees and blow him against the door? Will he want to have actual sex tonight? Will he even want sex? What if he read all the signs wrong?

All these questions won't get out of his damn head. That doubtful voice from before is back as he turns the knob and steps inside his apartment. 

When Phil closes the door behind them, Dan turns, ready to give a tour of his place but he stops in his tracks. 

Phil’s here. In his apartment. A bloke that he only properly met tonight is here because he’s keen on Dan. It feels surreal in a way but simultaneously the most real thing he’s felt in a long time. The spark in his chest is making his emotions  all confusing but he knows at least one thing he’s certain about.

Dan takes a step forward, and then another, and another until he’s pushing Phil against the door and pinning him there with his body. He hesitates for a moment, their faces so close together that he can feel Phil’s breath on his lips. 

Suddenly he closes the slight gap and his mouth is on Phil’s. His lips are soft. Incredibly soft and his slight stubble scratches Dan in just the way he loves. 

He goes to pull back but before he can Phil is kissing him back. 

As the kiss deepens, Phil’s hands reach up to wind through his curls. It’s hot. So hot. Dan can’t get enough of it. 

He opens his mouth and Phil licks into it. It’s wet. It’s filthy. It’s ridiculously intoxicating.

He moves from Phil’s mouth, lips dragging along his jaw, stubble burning his lips. When he reaches the spot where his neck meets his jaw, Dan nips lightly as a test.

The action is rewarding with a gravelly moan that resonates across his entire body. Well, one particular part of his body. He nips again, harder this time and Phil reacts the same.

Dan grins against his skin and before he can nip again Phil’s mouth is back on his with wet open kisses. 

He feels Phil push him, sending him backwards but instead of breaking apart Phil’s mouth never leaves his.

“Bedroom?” Phil asks into a kiss.

“No,” Dan replies, breathless. “Not gonna make it.”

The sofa’s closer so he wraps his arms around Phil’s waist and pulls him in the direction of it. As their mouths explore each other in kiss after kiss after kiss. 

He feels Phil tug off his cape before dipping his fingers under his shirt to tease the skin on his waist. Dan loves this. Loves being felt up and being wanted.

Dan feels the back of his legs hit the sofa and instead of stopping, he falls backwards onto the cushions, pulling Phil with him.

Now he can feel every inch of the bloke as they kiss, from the weight of his broad chest on top of him to the hardness between his legs. 

Phil’s hard. He’s actually bloody hard. 

The realisation thrills him and Dan’s presses his hips up, grinding into Phil and to his delight Phil grinds back. 

Phil is kissing his neck, causing all sorts of whimpers to escape from Dan’s lips when he suddenly stops, mouth hovering over the beginnings of a hickey.

“Dan! You didn’t tell me you watch Buffy!”

Those aren’t exactly the words he was expecting to hear during foreplay. 

“What?” He looks up at Phil whose attention is directed over to the coffee table where his Buffy boxset sits. “Yeah, I watched it in uni and recently had the urge to binge again. But you know what I have a bigger urge for?” 

Instead of waiting for an answer he cranes his neck up to kiss the corner of Phil’s mouth.

Phil kisses back but doesn’t continue. Instead, he pulls up off Dan, balancing on his knees, “We have more important matters to attend to, Mister Human Resources.”

“You sure, Mister Information Tech? What is more important than sex?”

“Buffy marathon! We’re both dressed up as vampires this is perfect.”

If the delight in his voice wasn’t so endearing Dan would sigh. 

Dan sits up. “You weren’t lying when you said you’re a massive fan.”

“It will be fun!” Phil exclaims, reaching over to grab the box set. “Do you have any blankets? And popcorn! Do you have popcorn?”

This is definitely not how he expected tonight to go. Hooking up was one thing but watching Buffy under the blankets with an almost stranger? That’s the exact opposite of how he thought the Halloween party would go.

He looks over at Phil. The bloke looks too excited for his own good and Dan can’t help but succumb to his wishes, “Why do you have to be so fucking cute?”

Phil leans over and places a gentle kiss on his lips. “Thank you.”

“Honestly didn’t expect to bring a fit guy home tonight let alone watch Buffy with said fit guy,” Dan giggles.

A wicked grin flashes across Phil’s face. “The fit guy might even suck your dick later if I can get these fangs off.”

He can’t help but snort, “You’re ridiculous.”

He finds popcorn and blankets as Phil finds where Dan left off somewhere in the third season. It feels strangely domestic. Definitely not something he would do with anyone else but Phil felt different. He doesn’t know why and he’s not sure the answer will come apparent anytime soon. It doesn’t matter though. Not right now. 

Dan settles on the sofa, a respectable distance away from Phil with the popcorn between them but Phil doesn’t settle for that. He lifts up the bowl and pats the space between them, an invitation to come closer.

He does exactly that, sliding up to Phil’s side, smiling as he wraps an arm around him. He hasn’t experienced intimacy like this in way too long.

They get through the episode without even talking. Dan should be weirded out by so much silence with someone so new but again, he doesn’t feel that hesitation with Phil.

He ends up with his head on Phil’s lap as he plays with his curls. It’s soft, domestic.

“You know,” Dan says, breaking their silence as the credits roll. “Before I met you tonight I told myself I wasn’t gonna hookup. It’s not my style.”

“And?”  

“I kept my promise.” 

Phil’s fingers pause, midway through tugging a curl, “What do you call this then?”

He rolls back so he can look up at Phil. Even from this angle, he looks stunning.

“You’re more than a hookup.” He says, words full of certainty. “I can feel it.”

Phil smiles, his little fangs poking out. “I think you’re right about that.”

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on [tumblr](http://scifiphan.tumblr.com) or [rebloggu the post](https://danrawrs.tumblr.com/post/179451721506/some-things-are-meant-to-be) uwu


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